Eluru-like mysterious illness emerges in Andhra Pradesh’s Pulla village

Hundreds of people were hospitalised with symptoms resembling epilepsy in Andhra Pradesh's Eluru town in early December last year. Similar cases have emerged in Andhra Pradesh's Pulla village.

By: Longjam Dineshwori | | Updated: January 20, 2021 9:58 am

The affected patients showed symptoms similar to the Eluru cases such as fainting, frothing, convulsions, vomiting and others.

A mysterious illness hit Andhra Pradesh’s Eluru town of West Godavari district early December last year amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of people were hospitalised with symptoms resembling epilepsy, such as sudden collapses, frothing at mouth and shivering. Along with epileptic fits, some patients reported experiencing forgetfulness, anxiety, vomiting, headache, and back pain. It affected over 70 per cent of the population in Eluru town, including small children. Eluru town has already returned to normalcy with no fresh cases of the mysterious disease. Also Read - Eluru's mysterious illness: Excess lead and nickel found in patients’ blood samples

But the strange disease has apparently resurfaced in Andhra Pradesh’s Pulla village, 30 km north east of Eluru town. Also Read - Eluru’s mysterious illness: Cases shot up to 455, vegetables samples taken for testing

According to an IANS report, cases of Eluru-like mysterious illness are being reported in Pulla village since Monday. Till 1:30 p.m. today, there have been 24 such cases of convulsions in the village. While 21 people have been discharged, three are still active. Out of the active cases, two are being treated at Pulla primary health centre while one is referred to the district hospital in Eluru. Also Read - Over 200 people hospitalised with mystery disease in Andhra Pradesh

Officials told the news agency that 15 beds have been made ready at Pulla PHC, 30 in Bhimadole and 50 in Eluru to admit future cases.

According to the officials, the affected patients showed symptoms similar to the Eluru cases such as fainting, frothing, convulsions, vomiting and others.

Cause of Eluru’s mysterious illness

After through investigation, the Andhra Pradesh government declared that pesticide residues in drinking water was the main cause for the outbreak of mysterious disease in Eluru. Following which the civic authorities took steps to ensure supply of safe drinking water to the people in the town.

The conclusion was reached based on their findings of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) of Delhi and Mangalagiri, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute (NEERI), National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and National Institute of Virology (NIV).

However, experts from the AIIMS-Delhi also reported the presence of traces of heavy metals like lead and nickel in the blood samples of the affected persons and milk samples collected from the area. On the other hand, NEERI scientist detected the presence of mercury in the surface water beyond permissible limits.

Nevertheless, all these institutes agreed that high quantities of organo-chlorine pesticides in drinking water samples could be the cause of the mystery illness. They suggested these pesticides could have entered the bodies of the patients through the food cycle via drinking water, vegetables and food crops.

Chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had assigned AIIMS-Delhi and the IICT to do a detailed study in this regard and suggest steps to prevent recurrence of such mysterious diseases in future.

He also directed the officials to conduct regular tests on samples of food, drinking water and soil to ensure that corrective measures are taken on time. The chief minister also asked the agriculture department to focus on withdrawing harmful pesticides from the market and emphasized on organic methods and organic farming.

Published : January 19, 2021 6:00 pm | Updated:January 20, 2021 9:58 am

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